Closer Look series: The First Parliament of Australia: the ceremony Closer Look A series of discussion papers for secondary teachers and students The First Parliament of Australia: the ceremony Introduction Tom Roberts’ painting of the opening of the fi rst parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia brings to life the major fi gures present at the ceremony. This Closer Look describes the major events of the ceremony including the speech by His Royal Highness (HRH) Duke of Cornwall and York, the King’s message to Australians and the Governor-General’s swearing in of members of each house. This paper will give secondary students and others a valuable insight into that momentous day in 1901. It also explores the functions of Australia’s fi rst parliament and contains the following areas of content: • Main points • Tom Roberts’ painting • Who attended the opening ceremony? • Extracts from the Age 10 May 1901 • Conclusion • More information Main points • Tom Roberts’ painting captured the opening of Australia’s fi rst parliament. • The ceremony included a hymn, a prayer, an opening speech by HRH the Duke of Cornwall and York and a message from King Edward VII. • Members of both houses of parliament were sworn in during the ceremony. • The ceremony closed with the Hallelujah Chorus, Rule Britannia and a resounding cheer as the royal party withdrew. Tom Roberts’ painting Tom Roberts called his painting ‘the big picture’. He was commissioned to make the painting by a group of Melbourne businessmen who had established a company called The Art Association of Australia. They required Roberts to complete a painting that included 250 miniature portraits of famous people who were present at the ceremony. Roberts sketched all the leading people and recorded their age, height, weight and hat size. He also attended the ceremony to make more sketches. Roberts painted most of the people dressed in black because Queen Victoria had recently died (22 January 1901) and the royal party and guests were still in mourning. The large canvas was worked on between September 1901 and November 1903 during which time Roberts worked in both Melbourne and London. In 1904, the Australian Government presented the painting to King Edward VII in gratitude for his son, the Duke of Cornwall and York (who later became King George V) performing the opening ceremony. The painting was hung in St James Palace London, from 1904 to 1957 and was returned on loan to Australia in 1958. It now hangs in Australia’s Parliament House in Canberra. Produced by the Parliamentary Education Offi ce. Located at www.peo.gov.au/students/cl/index.html 1 Closer Look series: The First Parliament of Australia: the ceremony Opening of the First Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia by HRH The Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V), May 9, 1901 (1903) Tom Roberts (1856-1931) oil on canvas, 304.5 x 509.2 cm. On permanent loan to the Parliament of Australia from the British Royal Collection. Courtesy of Parliament House Art Collection; Department of Parliamentary Services, Canberra ACT. Photo credit: Bruce Moore. Tom Robert’s painting with pointers to people of note. Read the key for identifi cation. Produced by the Parliamentary Education Offi ce. Located at www.peo.gov.au/students/cl/index.html 2 Closer Look series: The First Parliament of Australia: the ceremony Who attended the opening ceremony? Key 1. HRH the Duke of Cornwall and York 2. HRH the Duchess of Cornwall and York 3. Marquis of Linlithgow (Governor-General) 4. Marchioness of Linlithgow 5. State governors 6. Rt Hon Sir Edmund Barton (Prime Minister) 7. Rt Hon Sir John Forrest (Minister for Defence) 8. Rt Hon CC Kingston (Minister for Trade and Customs) 9. Hon Alfred Deakin (Attorney-General) 10. Members of the House of Representatives and Senate Extracts from the Age, 10 May 1901 Description of the opening scene WITHIN THE BUILDING A Vast Concourse Impressive Scenes Crowded as it was yesterday in every annexe and corner within seeing or hearing distance, with chairs full, galleries full and every inch of standing room occupied, the Exhibition Building presented a spectacle worthy of the event. It was a solemn; an impressive meeting hall. Every tint of too blazing colour had been subdued. Only the four Royal standards, hanging between the roof and the raised dais, suggested a day of high festival. For the rest the eye wandered over tier after tier, row upon row of black and purple attire, with just a tinge of scarlet here and there, and occasionally a glimpse of ermine. Brilliant the coloring was not, but it was rich and warm. It struck the gazer with a sense of subdued magnifi cence, a sense heightened and intensifi ed by the wide sweep of the arches, the immensity of the distance from dome to fl oor. The music with which a splendid orchestra beguiled the period of waiting chimed in well with the atmosphere of the place. It was in character, lofty and aspiring; not hasty and impetuous, but impregnated with something of conscious majesty and growing power. Among the vast audience as it waited were to be seen those who have helped to bring in the councils of the nations and those whom the nation delights to honour. First in rank and dignity were the Governors of the other States, who in their brilliant robes of offi ce graced the platform on which the King’s son was to stand. There were his Excellency Lord Tennyson and Lady Tennyson, His Excellency Lord Lamington and Lady Lamington, His Excellency Sir Arthur Lawley and Lady Lawley, His Excellency Sir John Madden and Lady Madden; his Excellency Sir John Dodds. For upwards of an hour the great concourse waited. It was well on towards mid-day, the building was crowded, and further ingress was impossible, when the voice of the Clerk of Parliaments (Mr Blackmore) was heard distinct and clear. He was reading to the members of the Senate—the members of the other House were waiting in the western annexe—the proclamation of the Governor-General calling Parliament together. The reading ceased, there was a brief interval, fi lled in by the music of the orchestra, and then the strains of the National Anthem were heard outside. There was a fl ourish of trumpets, a far off sound of cheering, and it was known that his Royal Highness had arrived. Produced by the Parliamentary Education Offi ce. Located at www.peo.gov.au/students/cl/index.html 3 Closer Look series: The First Parliament of Australia: the ceremony The opening prayer His Royal Highness and the Duchess of Cornwall and York entered the building preceded by His Excellency the Governor-General and the Countess of Hopetoun, and the strains of the National Anthem splendidly rendered by the orchestra had not subsided as they took up their positions on the dais near the entrance. His Royal Highness bowed to the gathering, and turning towards Mr Blackmore, the Clerk of the Federal Parliament, commissioned him to summon to the chamber the members of the Federal House of Representatives. There was no necessity to call the members of the Senate, as they were already in attendance. After an interval of a few minutes, the Prime Minister, Mr Barton, appeared, preceded by Mr G H Jenkins, Clerk of the Federal House of Representatives, and followed by his colleagues in the Cabinet—Mr Deakin, Sir William Lyne, Sir George Turner, Mr Kingston, Sir John Forrest and Sir Philip Fysh. The Old Hundredth hymn, All People That on Earth do Dwell, was then sung by the gathering to the accompaniment of the orchestra, and afterwards Lord Hopetoun read prayers for the King and Queen and the Federal Parliament. No one who heard it could have failed to be impressed by the solemnity of the occasion. His Excellency’s voice rang clear through the building, and as he proceeded with the reading of the service the words could be distinctly heard at the farthest corner. Nothing more impressive could be imagined than the hush which fell over the vast assemblage as Lord Hopetoun delivered the prayer for the Federal Parliament: We pray Thee at this time to vouchsafe Thy special blessing upon the Federal Parliament now assembling for their fi rst session and that Thou wouldst be pleased to direct and prosper all their consultations to the true welfare of the people of Australia, through Jesus Christ our Lord. As his Excellency bowed his head at the last syllable, the multitude joined in the Lord’s prayer. ‘For Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.’ The words rolled in muffl ed tones through the building, and the religious portion of the ceremony was concluded. The opening speech by his Royal Highness His Royal Highness advanced to the edge of the dais, and placing his hat on his head, read the following speech: Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives. My beloved and deeply-lamented grandmother, Queen Victoria, had desired to mark the importance of the opening of this, the fi rst Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, and to manifest her special interest in all that concerns the welfare of her loyal subjects in Australia, by granting to me a commission to open the fi rst session. The commission had been duly signed before the sad event which has plunged the whole Empire into mourning, and the King, my dear father, fully sharing her late Majesty’s wishes, decided to give effect to them, although his Majesty stated on the occasion of his opening his fi rst Parliament that a separation from his son at such a time could not be otherwise than deeply painful to him.